The Arrival of Larry Bird

The Boston Celtics selected the 6'9", 220-pound Bird 6th overall in the 1978 NBA Draft, even though they were uncertain whether he would enter the NBA or remain at Indiana State to play his senior season. Bird ultimately decided to play his final college season, but the Celtics retained their exclusive right to sign him until the 1979 NBA Draft, because of the NBA's "junior eligible" rule that existed at that time (allowing a collegiate player to be drafted when the player's original "entering" class was graduating and giving them one calendar year to sign them, even if they went back to college). Shortly before that deadline, Bird agreed to sign with the Celtics for a US $650,000 a year contract, making him at the time the highest-paid rookie in the history of the NBA. Shortly afterwards, the NBA draft eligibility rules were changed to prevent teams from drafting players before they were ready to sign. The rule is called the Bird Collegiate Rule.

Larry Bird's impact on the Celtics was immediate. The Celtics were 29--53 during the 1978--79 season, but with Bird the team improved to 61--21 in the 1979--80 season, posting the league's best regular season record. Bird's collegiate rival, Magic Johnson, also had entered the NBA in 1979, joining the Los Angeles Lakers. In 1980, despite a strong rookie season from Johnson, Bird was named the league's Rookie of the Year and was voted onto the Eastern Conference All-Star team (an honor he would receive for each of his 12 full seasons in the NBA). For the 1980 season, Bird led the Celtics in scoring (21.3 points/game), rebounding (10.4 rebounds/game), steals (143), and minutes played (2,955) and was second in assists (4.5 assists/game) and three-pointers (58). Though Boston was beaten by the more athletic Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference finals that year, Bird's addition to the team had renewed the promise of Celtic glory.

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[lasoogneypubes]

@MrBEB123 Well most of them can lol. Put Larry Bird's mind in a more athletic body and he would be twice as good as MJ.

[BlaZiiNxIIxGuNn3R]

you 12 yr old kobe fanboys can say kobe is better than bird in ? or in ?. kobe's basketball I.Q can never be compared to Larry's I.Q, larry is in his own league when it comes to smarts about the game.

[thechessstick]

@BlaZiiNxIIxGuNn3R Don't forget Pete Maravich.

[braxtonantoine]

I wonder if Brown didn't trade (3) 1st rounders for Mcadoo, would Auerbach have used maybe (2) in setting up for the #1 pick in 1979, Magic Johnson?

[BB0ysGam3s]

you say zidane i say larry bird

you say pele i say michael jordan

you say ronaldinho i say magic johnson

looks pretty retard from a guy who understand basketball but my opinion :)

[BB0ysGam3s]

he is a beast

[farhannius16]

@mhjb0034 MJ had better numbers, more championships, more success, and all without a dominant big man. Sure the Celtics owned the Bulls in MJ's early years, but MJ was still very young and the Bulls team wasn't at its peak until the 90's. MJ was a much better defensive player and was as, if not more, clutch than Bird. I don't know how you can argue that Bird was better than MJ.

[phaammmalamb]

a.k.a the arrival of Jesus